The use of thick film paste to form resistors, dielectrics and conductors which are employed in hybrid microelectronic components is well known in the electronics art. Broadly, such paste or ink compositions include a conductive, resistive or dielectric component; a bonding material, such as a glass or inorganic oxide; and a vehicle, usually an organic compound or polymer, which serves as a dispersing medium or vehicle for the inorganic components of the paste.
In use, such paste or ink compositions are applied in the desired configuration or pattern onto a suitable substrate. In this regard, substrates have been fabricated from numerous types of materials. For example, such substrate materials include alumina, beryllia, aluminum nitride, and silicon carbide.
Of the many substrate materials utilized today, one which is especially useful is aluminum nitride. However, one problem associated with its use is the limited adhesion of most thick film paste or ink compositions to aluminum nitride or aluminum nitride containing structures.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a means of bonding thick film paste or ink compositions to a ceramic substrate fashioned from aluminum nitride.